Informational Continuity, Hardware/Software Extension, and Transfer Models — CEI Framework

This work continues the development of the CEI conceptual framework, focusing on informational continuity across different physical substrates. It is presented as a natural extension of previous contributions, progressively refining and structuring the theoretical model through two complementary analytical components. One component develops a structured set of models describing the transfer and persistence of information under the constraints of the principles of conservation of energy and information. Three regimes are examined: complete transfer, branching transfer, and a theoretical limiting case of pure copy. These models are used to classify different modes of continuity between an original system and its subsequent instantiations on distinct substrates. A fundamental distinction emerges between complete transfer, characterized by the full re-instantiation of the informational structure, and branching transfer, which represents a distributed and more stable regime of continuity. The branching configuration is identified as the primary reference model within the theoretical framework developed here. The concept of Parallel Originals is introduced as a comparative boundary case, while the notion of pure copy is strictly treated as a theoretical limit rather than a physically realizable process. A unifying interpretation connects all physically meaningful models through the concept of informational continuity, where identity and persistence are described in terms of structural and informational coherence. The other component introduces an extended interpretation of the hardware/software distinction that goes beyond classical computational systems, providing a fundamental conceptual bridge for the CEI framework. In this formulation, hardware is defined as any material substrate capable of supporting structure and interaction, while software is defined as organized information, including models, knowledge, and functional structures. This perspective highlights the deep interdependence between physical systems and informational organization, particularly in biological contexts where structure and information are closely correlated. DNA, for example, is discussed as a representative model of a system in which material and informational aspects coexist. Overall, the CEI framework provides a structured analytical language for discussing the continuity, transfer, and persistence of informational systems across different domains, while remaining consistent with physical conservation principles yet fundamentally conceptual in scope. Each development builds upon previous formulations, progressively refining the descriptive and structural capacity of the model.